Topic: Donkey Kong Bananza

I can totally see an ending where DK looks the exact as Pauline grew up. Or we find out that Pauline we helped throughout the game is her Daughter and her name is "Pauline jr."

That would be awful; Switch 2 only has one real exclusive game right now; they need another big hitter early on, just like how Switch 1 had Zelda and Mario Kart in the first 2 months. DK is taking that role.

Agreed. Regardless of Mario Kart's popularity, not everyone cares about that type of game. I'm one of those people who don't, so Bananza is the first Nintendo-developed Switch 2 game I'm gonna buy.

@FishyS it won’t be surprising if another top 5 selling franchise is announced for this year

That's because they don't feel beholden to it. They'll do world-building and establish character dynamics and such, but generally they're pretty loose when it comes to fitting everything together. Case in point, we don't have a straight answer on Cranky's relation to DK and probably never will.

I have the strong feeling of "This is very Disney" from this game, when Pauline sings she sounds like straight from Frozen animated movie. Hope its not just game for little girls like Princess Peach was.

And im sorry but she absolutely does not look like 13 years old, more like 10 years old or younger.

@barabara Its definitely not that type of game. But I agree its very Disney like.

@barabara
lol omg this comment

Well I wasn't going to watch the direct but something just prompted me.
It looks lush.. sorry if I sound a bit cocky here.. but I knew it, I just knew I was right, why Nintendo couldn't have released this as their launch game instead of that lacklustre MKW romp is beyond me, the Switch 2 would've still sold bucketloads they should have just kept MKW as a filler game between it's next big release (the price might have been a little bit more sensible too) where they really that worried about losing sales!

@Dhaladog Simple because its Mario Kart. A game that can be ported from a failing console and sell gangbusters. The $80 price is proof as they know for a fact people will buy it regardless, that's just how strong the brand is.

Sigh, yeah I know.. head in hands time!

This games look so fun and it looks like there’s so much to it, besides the lack of Kongs and Kremlings, the only thing in the way of this game is DK’s design. I just can’t take the game seriously with the joke design of the main protagonist. Maybe I’ll get the game if there’s a way to make him look more serious!

@PikminMarioKirby DK was a never a super-serious character. He has his moments sure, but at his core he's always been a big goofus doofus. It's LITERALLY the reason he has his name for crying out loud. I honestly wonder if anyone saying this has actually paid attention to anything the character has actually done in the games.

@N00BiSH I mean he just started as an emotionless monkey, now look at him. Ever since DKC he’s been funny but he had other characteristics back then. Mario Movie predicted this, with characters thinking of him as a joke/not taking him seriously.

Also please don’t accuse me of not knowing much about the games, I’m a big DK fan and I know he wasn’t always purely comic relief

@PikminMarioKirby I wasn't trying to specifically accuse you, if that's how it came off - your take is just one I've seen repeated many times elsewhere.

As for your point on DK being "comic relief" now, that's not what I've been seeing. You're not entirely wrong in that there are other facets to DK's personality, but that doesn't change the fact that at his core, he's a big, stubborn oaf - an indelible part of his character no matter what form he takes. Not to say he was never cool or tough, mind you; That was part of the intent of the Rare design and titles like Jungle Beat and the Retro duology only reaffirm that. But here's the thing: no one game made DK swing one way or the other. He can be cool AND he can be goofy. Just like say, Mario or Kirby, the ape's biggest strength as a character is his versatility. He can be whatever a scene or game needs him to be and it never feels too out of place. This remains true even with his refreshed look. The new DK can be as aggressive just as much as he can be silly.

_{Additionally, I wouldn't take the film's interpretations of the characters as gospel - almost all of them were drastically altered in ways that aren't really true to the games(see also: Mario being a useless underdog with parental issues).}

@PikminMarioKirby DK looks fine here. The problem in this case is the rest of the characters, who all look too shiny or have applied way too much hair product(lookin' at you, Bowser, you overgrown greaser).

@N00BiSH So you're blaming literally every character besides DK? That feels like a pretty far reach. The lighting isn't the problem here.

@PikminMarioKirby Well, not every character, admittedly and it's more a texture problem than lightning; besides, a collage of polished-up Mario renders together isn't necessarily what I meant when I said that(and it's not like DK didn't look out of place beforehand).

@PikminMarioKirby I argue DK fits more than his old design. There's just something about him being more rounder and cartoonier that makes him blend in more with the cast.